In the future, the boundary between our minds and our technologies will blur. We will become our books. Or perhaps they will become us…
Writer Hannu Rajaniemi and data scientist Samuel Halliday have been exploring the idea at the Edinburgh Science Festival recently with a project called Snow White is Dead, a modern retelling of the classic fairy tale that leaves the fate of the raven-haired princess in the hands – or the brain – of the reader. Is the apple green or red? Is Snow White alive or dead?
picture: Zuzana Krejciova
The story’s effect on the reader’s brain is captured using an EEG headset. An algorithm learns what themes and elements engage each reader, and turns this data into a unique path through the story. The reader experiences the story as linear, calm and immersive, but by opening themselves to be read, neurofiction readers become subconscious collaborators in the creation of a new narrative.
Visit http://neurofiction.net for more.
Buy Arc 1.1 The Future Always Wins to read Hannu Rajaniemi’s story Topsight.
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